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Climate change poses threats and dangers to the survival of indigenous peoples worldwide, even though they contribute little to greenhouse emissions. indigenous peoples depend on renewable natural resources that are most at risk to climate variability and extremes. For example, climate change brings new challenges for the Sami as the Arctic is warming at double the rate of the rest of the world. Warmer summers and unpredictable winters affect the reindeer herding that relies on seasonal patterns. For them, a slight temperature increase can have drastic and undesirable repercussions.
Travel and climate change
According to IPCC limiting global warming to 1.5 °C will require drastic action. We cannot travel without thinking what is causes to the environment. The world would have to curb its carbon emissions by at least 49% of 2017 levels by 2030, and then to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. We need everybody’s support to make this change happen. For the love of earth, we recommend to travel less but deeper, and better, and do something to personal travel carbon emissions. From every trip booked by us, we plant 20 trees. The tree planting packages are provided by our collaboration partner, One Tree Planted, which is a U.S. based non-profit organization that plants trees all over the world.
But why we plant trees? Every time we use fossil fuels to travel, we release carbon into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change. One of the practical ways to combat climate change is to plant more trees in order to take more carbon out of the atmosphere. According to One Tree Planted, trees are like the vacuums of our planet. Through their leaves and bark, they suck up harmful pollutants and release clean oxygen for us to breathe. And what is good, newly planted or regenerating forests can continue to absorb carbon for 20–50 years or more.
In addition, planting more trees is very important for biodiversity. The diversity of life that a tree can support is incredible. A single tree can be home to hundreds of species of insect, fungi, moss, mammals, and plants. Planting trees have also social impact. Billions of people depend on trees for fuel, medicine, food, tools and containers, fodder for livestock, shade, and watershed maintenance. Planting trees in a sustainable manner helps people to produce the goods and services they need from the forest. And the last, let's not forget that forest gives food for many people with wild fruits, berries, nuts, vegetables, mushrooms and animal products. It's also a source for many medicines.
According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the travel sector accounts for 8% of global carbon emissions. But what is included in these carbon emissions figures? The major factor is the way we travel, and air travel causes the most carbon emissions. But it also mattes what we do when we step out of the plane. What is a traveler’s impact in a destination, and how much water, waste and energy should be used compared to the local populations.
Nature is good for us because we are part of nature
Our connection with nature matters
Visit Natives' experiences are all about nature. Our main goal is to keep nature clean and respected and we think there are no better guides than the Sami reindeer herders who can teach us how to live in balance with the Arctic nature. All our experiences are based on a real life so we don’t build anything for travelers. Mostly, travelers visit Sami families in Tundra where is no electricity, no roads, no shower and just a basic wooden toilet outdoors. For many of our customers this is the first deep experience with nature . There’s plenty of evidence that nature is good for people’s health, well-being and happiness. Nature is good for us because we are part of nature. This thinking is fundamental for indigenous peoples who live from the nature. With our indigenous hosts, we bring travelers back to the nature. It can be difficult to protect the nature if we don't have any relationship with it anymore. When people are reconnected with nature they care more about nature conservation, climate change and about their our own well-being. What is good news is that reindeer can actually help to slow down climate change in the Arctic circle. According to Umeå University 's recent studies reindeer have actually a potential cooling effect on climate.
We think that sustainable traveling is not just for the eco-conscious people, it’s for everyone who travels. Therefore we all have to take an action to protect our beautiful earth. From the moment you book with Visit Natives, we think about how your travel impacts the Arctic nature. We give back to the environment and back to the Sami people. You can read more about our business concept here. If you have any questions, we are more than happy to help you to plan your next sustainable holiday in Norway. Just leave us a message and we'll get back to you!
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